A “red tide” happens when water evaporates and becomes saltier, leading to the growth of algae known as algal bloom.
Maharlou Lake is located 25 kilometers to the southeast of Shiraz, the capital of Iran’s Fars Province. It is one of the key sources of edible and industrial salt for the province.
It is also regarded as a tourism attraction of Fars Province.
Sepehr Khalaji, the head of the Iranian government’s information council, tweeted on Monday that a shipment containing hard drives and computer cases belonging to the MKO had arrived in Iran.
Iranian experts are currently engaged in data retrieval from these devices and identifying the terrorist group’s connections and sabotage cells, he added.
“The results have been promising so far,” the official said.
The MKO has carried out numerous terrorist attacks against Iranian civilians and government officials since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Out of the nearly 17,000 Iranians killed in terrorist attacks over the past four decades, about 12,000 have fallen victim to the MKO’s acts of terror.
Albanian police forces entered the MKO camp, known as Ashraf-3, in the northwestern region of the capital, Tirana, on June 20 due to its engagement in “terror and cyber attacks” against foreign institutions.
Authorities seized 150 computer devices linked to terrorist activities. At least one person was killed and dozens of others were injured during the clashes at the camp.
More than a week later, police in Albania entered the Ashraf-3 camp again and security forces were deployed at the entrance to the camp and controlled all vehicles leaving the site.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said it is seriously pursuing terrorists beyond the country’s borders, following a string of successful operations that led to the arrest of individuals affiliated with the MKO.
The statement added that the intelligence ministry has consistently warned European intelligence and security services about the MKO’s ongoing terrorist activities, particularly from their main base in Albania and other Western countries.
In an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel published on Friday, Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama also said that the MKO members must leave the country if the group wants to use Albanian soil to fight against Iran.
Mohammad Eslami, the director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said at an event on Tuesday that “given the capacities built,” Iran will soon be a top producer and exporter of medicinal radiocompounds.
He said the AEOI had taken major strides in the field of plasma science and technology and the development of irradiation technology “within the past 16 months.”
“We now see the production of quality heavy water in the country and we have reached a good status in the world and can export this important product to other countries,” Eslami said.
The Iranian official said the organization under his command will “extinguish the global hype against Iran’s nuclear industry.”
The Iranian nuclear program has been a focus of Western attention since the 2000s. Western governments claim that Iran has been pursuing the development of an atomic bomb. Tehran denies that claim and says its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes only.
Iran reached a nuclear deal with the United States and five other countries back in 2015. But the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the deal and the imposition of numerous sanctions on Tehran stonewalled its proper implementation.
According to a Tuesday report by the IRNA, the EI released a report titled the 72nd edition of the Statistical Review of World Energy, indicating that the Islamic Republic exported 18.9 bcm of natural gas in 2022.
The figure accounted for 2.5% of the world’s natural gas trade through the pipeline this year.
Iran’s natural gas export has registered a 9% surge compared to 2021, said the report.
The figure is more than 4 times the average growth of the global trade of this product, added the EI.
The report went on to say that Iran exported 17.3 bcm of natural gas in 2021.
Of Iran’s total export of 18.9 bcm in the previous year, 9.4 bcm were exported to Iraq, 9.1 bcm to Turkey and 0.4 bcm to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
“There are about 3,000 people who have left the camp so far,” Jenin deputy governor Kamal Abu al-Roub told the AFP news agency, adding that arrangements were being made to house the displaced in schools and other shelters in the city of Jenin.
He said about 18,000 Palestinians live in the refugee camp.
Ten Palestinian people have been confirmed killed so far in Jenin with about 100 hospitalised and 20 of those in critical condition, according to authorities.
Offices and businesses across the occupied West Bank were expected to close in response to calls for a general strike to protest against the Israeli army’s operation in Jenin, which the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas has described as a “war crime”.
Palestinian Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila told Al Jazeera that the situation in the Jenin refugee camp has become “very, very difficult”.
“The water network and electricity network is damaged, especially inside the refugee camp, which makes the life more difficult for the refugees,” she said, adding, “The health situation is really very critical.”
Al-Kaila explained that hospitals were crowded with those injured in the attack and workers were struggling to arrive at healthcare centres due to the violence.
But, she added, her ministry had already prepared local hospitals for such an assault.
“Medical supplies and the medicines were transported to the hospitals. That will be enough for three months. And that was done last week, because we anticipated that Israel is going to have an aggression to Jenin Governorate,” Al-Kaila said.
International medical charity Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) has also called for health workers to be “assured of unhindered access” to those in need of medical care in Jenin amid the Israeli military’s largest raid on the city’s refugee camp in more than 20 years.
According to the organisation, all roads leading to the Jenin refugee camp have been blocked by Israeli forces “for the duration of the military operation despite the presence of patients in need of care inside the refugee camp”.
“Beyond killing and injuring people, this military operation has also affected health structures and obstructed the medical response to the emergency,” the organisation announced in a statement.
Israeli “military bulldozers destroyed multiple roads leading to the Jenin refugee camp, making it nearly impossible for ambulances to reach patients”, MSF said.
“Additionally, Palestinian paramedics have been forced to proceed on foot to reach people in need of desperate medical treatment in an area with active gunfire and drone strikes,” it added.
The European Union’s special representative for the Middle East peace process Sven Koopmans said the situation in Jenin has raised the possibility “of a major eruption”, and has called on all sides to protect civilians.
Koopmans stated he was following the events in Jenin closely, which had come after “months of escalating violence and increasing hopelessness”.
“We call on all parties to protect civilian life and respect humanitarian law,” Koopmans wrote in a tweet, adding that he had met with Ireland’s deputy prime minister, Micheal Martin, where the two had discussed the “terrible situation” in Jenin and the need to work towards “peace and security for all”.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “is deeply concerned about the developments in Jenin,” according to a statement released by his office.
Guterres “affirms that all military operations must be conducted with full respect for international humanitarian law,” the statement says.
Asked about Israeli drone strikes, a spokesperson tells reporters, “It is not acceptable for there to be armed attacks in areas of high population density.”
“All parties need to abide by international humanitarian law,” the spokesperson stated.
The spokesperson added Guterres is evaluating the situation, and is “in touch with a range of parties,” while he stresses the need to avoid further escalation.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has also said it is deeply concerned over the damage inflicted by Israel’s assault on the densely populated Jenin refugee camp, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
At least five Palestinian refugees were among those killed, the agency stressed.
Water and electricity services were disrupted in large areas of the camp, UNRWA said, adding that all the agency’s installations, including four schools and one health centre, were not functioning due to the attack.
“Critical UNRWA services cannot be delivered,” Adam Bouloukos, UNRWA’s director in the occupied West Bank, wrote on Twitter.
“Humanitarian access is most urgent now,” he added.
UN agencies have raised concerns over the scale of Israel’s assault in Jenin, adding that first aid responders have been prevented from reaching critically injured people.
“We are alarmed at the scale of air and ground operations that are taking place in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, and air strikes hitting a densely populated refugee camp,” Vanessa Huguenin, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office, told a briefing.
She said three children were among those killed, without providing details.
“First responders have been prevented from entering the (Jenin) refugee camp, including to reach persons who have been critically injured,” stated WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier, referring to restrictions put in place by Israeli forces.
“As of now, the attacks have been repelled by air defenses. All of the detected UAVs were destroyed,” Sergey Sobyanin said in a statement.
The mayor noted that no casualties were caused, and that emergency services have been working in the affected areas of Novaya Moskva (New Moscow), which is part of the city, and the surrounding Moscow Region.
Temporary flight restrictions around of the capital’s Vnukovo Airport have been lifted, Sobyanin added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said a total of five Ukrainian drones were involved in the attempted attack early on Tuesday.
Four of the incoming UAVs were shot down by air defenses over Novaya Moskva, while another crashed in the Odintsovo District of the Moscow Region after being disabled by electronic warfare, according to the ministry.
There was no damage on the ground resulting from the incursion, it added.
Earlier, a source in the emergency services told TASS news agency that two incoming drones had been downed on the outskirts of Moscow, while another was allegedly intercepted in Kaluga Region, to the southwest of the capital.
“According to preliminary data, three drones were heading towards Moscow… Two were suppressed by radio electronic warfare means in New Moscow, and one in the Kaluga region,” the source told TASS.
The debris of two drones intercepted on the outskirts of Moscow fell in an open field near the Valuevo settlement around 5 kilometers from Vnukovo Airport, another source told RIA Novosti.
At least ten morning flights heading to Vnukovo were redirected to the capital’s other main airports, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo, according to the airport’s website.
Multiple eyewitnesses reported hearing at least two blasts in the Novaya Moskva area at around 6am local time, while several Telegram channels shared videos of smoke in the air.
Two weeks ago the Russian military foiled a Ukrainian raid on Moscow Region which involved three aircraft-type drones. The “terrorist attack” on the region’s facilities did not result in any casualties or damage as the UAVs were suppressed by electronic warfare, lost control and crashed, according to the Defense Ministry.
Ukraine has previously attempted to strike targets in Moscow Region and the capital itself. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that Kiev had launched an attack on Moscow involving eight drones which were either shot down by air defenses, or suppressed by electronic warfare. The raid damaged several residential buildings, but did not cause any serious injuries.
In a statement released on Monday, the Joint Chamber of Palestinian Resistance Groups urged all resistance fighters in Jenin and its refugee camp to stand by each other and fight the enemy in a unified manner.
“The Joint Chamber always stands ready to pursue the brutal aggressions against Jenin. The resistance is present in all fields and does not allow the enemy to encroach on our people in Jenin,” the statement read.
“We ask all our people …, especially those in the Jenin camp, to join the battle against the occupiers and support Jenin. If the occupiers continue their crime and assault, the Palestinian resistance is ready to respond to the enemy in all fields,” it added.
Early on Monday, Israeli aircraft and ground forces conducted a massive raid on Jenin, killing at least ten Palestinians and injuring dozens, some of them in critical condition.
The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) also said in a statement that Israel will not achieve its goals and that Jenin will not surrender.
“The aggression against Jenin will not achieve its goals, and we will remain [in] Jenin as a symbol of steadfastness,” the statement read, adding, “Our fighters are determined to confront and fight no matter the sacrifices.”
It noted that all options are on the table, including striking the enemy in response to its aggression in Jenin.
Hamas Spokesperson Hazem Qassem also stated that the aggression will not achieve its goals adding that the Zionist enemy will fail.
“Throughout history, Jenin has proven to be unbreakable and has a great capacity to stand steadfast in the face of the enemy,” he added.
Ismail Haniyeh, the head of the political bureau of Hamas, also called on the Palestinian people across the occupied West Bank to stand by Jenin and defend its people to thwart the enemy’s plan.
He stressed Palestinians and the resistance groups “know how to respond to this savage aggression.”
Fatah political party also announced the Israeli occupation is delusional about its ability to kill the resistance spirit through its terror and incursions into the Palestinian camps.
It urged the Palestinian people to take caution, because “the enemy is insidious, and its aim is killing, destruction and sabotage.”
The funds have been deposited into an account at the Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI) and will be utilized for the purchase of goods that are not subject to US sanctions, Al-e Es’haq announced on Monday.
Consequently, Iraq is no longer hindered in settling its debt arrears or conducting financial transactions with Iran, he noted.
The outstanding $10 billion debt owed by the Iraqi government was primarily for imports of natural gas and electricity, Al-e Es’haq explained.
The funds had been blocked as a result of US banking sanctions on Iran. Washington has previously issued several waivers to Baghdad, enabling it to release the funds.
Highlighting Iran’s significant regional standing, Al-e Es’haq affirmed Tehran’s commitment to capitalizing on trade opportunities with neighboring Iraq.
He said Iran and Iraq have the potential to double their trade volume to $20 billion in the coming years, up from its current level of just over $10 billion.
Furthermore, the official emphasized the pivotal role that the private sector could play in achieving $10-11 billion in bilateral trade with Iraq, covering various fields other than gas exports, electricity, and technical-engineering services.
Back in June, Iraq released $2.7 billion worth of Iranian funds in gas export money owed by the Baghdad government.
The decision came after Abbas held a meeting with other leaders of the PA.
Abbas has temporarily suspended coordination with Israel a number of times in the past during previous rounds of escalation.
Palestinian leaders have called Israel’s largest military operation in Jenin in 20 years a “new war crime” after at least ten Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded.
A spokesman for Abbas has urged the international community to “break its shameful silence and take serious action”.
“What the Israeli occupation government is doing in the city of Jenin and its camp is a new war crime against our defenceless people,” Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement.
“The Palestinian people will not surrender or raise the white flag but will remain steadfast on their land in the face of this brutal aggression until the occupation is defeated and freedom is achieved,” he added.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry described the Jenin operation as a “barbaric aggression”, saying it was part of Israel’s official policy “of using military force in dealing with the defenceless Palestinian people as an alternative to political solutions to the conflict”.
It called for urgent international action to “immediately stop the aggression” and urged the International Criminal Court to “start holding the Israel war criminals accountable”.
The Palestinian ambassador to the Arab League has also called for an urgent meeting on Tuesday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The meeting will “discuss ways of effective action at the Arab and international levels to stop this Israeli aggression, hold its perpetrators accountable and request protection,” it stressed.
The Palestinian mission to the United Nation has asked the international community if it is not “duty-bound” to act when a civilian population – which is already under occupation – is attacked with “absolute disregard for human life” by a foreign force “armed to the teeth” and in flagrant breach of international law.
“Is it not clear for all the world to see that Israel’s terrorism and aggression against the Palestinian people is escalating and becoming ever more brutal, invasive and hateful as it becomes ever more emboldened by the inaction of the international community,” the mission announced in a statement amid the Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that all drones involved in an attack on Moscow on Tuesday were either “destroyed or neutralized.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced earlier it intercepted five Ukrainian drones near Moscow on Tuesday, calling the incident a “terrorist” attack in.
Asked to comment on the attack during a regular conference call with journalists, Peskov stated he “cannot give a professional assessment of the defense system’s performance.”
“We can only state that all these drones were either destroyed or neutralized using the appropriate systems,” he added.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he looks forward to working with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose leadership term was extended by one year on Tuesday.
“Excellent news on the extension of Jens Stoltenberg’s mandate as NATO Secretary General. Tough times demand strong leadership. Jens Stoltenberg has demonstrated just that,” Kuleba tweeted.
“I look forward to furthering our cooperation,” he added.
Stoltenberg said he was “honored” by the transatlantic military alliance’s decision to prolong his leadership for another year, until 1 October 2024.
“The Transatlantic bond between Europe and North America has ensured our freedom and security for nearly 75 years and in a more dangerous world, our Alliance is more important than ever,” Stoltenberg tweeted.
The former prime minister of Norway and UN special envoy on climate change became NATO secretary general in October 2014.
Members of NATO have staunchly supported Ukraine throughout the conflict, distributing billions of dollars worth of military aid and imposing sanctions on Russia to squeeze its economy.
Finland’s accession in April 2022 doubled NATO’s border with Russia and changed the security landscape in northeastern Europe, in a major blow to President Vladimir Putin’s agenda.
But the war in Ukraine has also exposed cracks in the alliance amid tensions over Kyiv’s bid for NATO membership, with some members voicing concerns that such a move could cause tensions with Moscow to boil over.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday thanked allies who expressed solidarity with Moscow after last month’s short-lived rebellion led by the Wagner private military company.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference, Putin thanked the leaders attending the summit for “coming out as a united front.”
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko were all attending the virtual gathering of Eurasian leaders hosted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The summit marked Putin’s first appearance on the world stage since the attempted rebellion in June.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my colleagues from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries who have expressed support for the actions of the Russian leadership in protecting the constitutional order, the life and security of citizens,” he stated.
“We highly appreciate it,” he continued.
Putin added that Russia was “withstanding all “sanctions and provocations” and that the country was “steadily developing.”
The attempted insurrection steered by Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin marked the biggest threat to Putin’s tenure since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The long-time Russian leader has since stepped up his public appearances, working hard to reassert his authority.
Putin claimed in his address that the Russian people came out against the Wagner rebellion.
“The solidarity and high responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland was clearly demonstrated by Russian political circles and the entire society by coming out as a united front against the attempted armed rebellion,” he continued.
While many of Russia’s top officials rushed in to express support for Putin, there were no large scale protests or other shows of unity.
An alleged Ukrainian drone attack targeted civilian infrastructure in Moscow on Tuesday, a spokesperson for Russia’s Foreign Ministry claimed.
Spokesperson Maria Zakharova’s remarks came after Russian authorities said air defenses intercepted five Ukrainian drones that forced a number of flights to be diverted from the Vnukovo airport serving the capital.
The alleged drone attack near Moscow was an “attempt to attack an area where civilian infrastructure is located, including the airport,” Zakharova said in a Telegram post.
Ukraine rarely comments on attacks on Russian soil, which have ramped up in recent months.
In her statement, Zakharova stated Vnukovo airport receives overseas flights and called the alleged attack “yet another act of terrorism.”
“Considering that Volodymyr Zelensky carries out these attacks with weapons supplied by the West or purchased with Western funds, this is international terrorism,” she added.
No casualties or damage occurred as a result of the drone interceptions, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced earlier.
Three people have now been confirmed dead following a Russian drone attack on the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy Monday, the city’s mayor confirmed Tuesday.
Four Russian drones struck the center of the city on Monday, hitting two apartment blocks and an administrative building, according to local officials.
The number of people wounded has also increased, from 19 to 21, Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko stated.
“My condolences to all the families, friends and relatives of the victims. Eternal memory. We will never forgive,” Lysenko said in a Telegram post.
The Sumy regional military administration called the strike “another terrorist act of the Russian Federation” and declared Tuesday a day of mourning in the city.
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced it intercepted five Ukrainian drones near Moscow on Tuesday in what it called a “terrorist” attack in a statement on Telegram.
“This morning, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using five UAVs against targets in Moscow region and New Moscow was foiled,” the ministry said.
Four of the drones were intercepted by air defenses in the New Moscow region, it added.
The fifth drone was “suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed on the territory of the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region,” the ministry said.
There were no casualties as a result of the drone interceptions, the ministry said.
An attempted Ukrainian drone attack forced an airport serving Moscow to divert “some flights” on Tuesday, the Russian capital’s mayor said.
“For security reasons, some flights from Vnukovo airport have been temporarily rerouted,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
All drones detected were eliminated by air defense forces and there were no casualties or injuries, he added.
Russian aviation authorities announced earlier that six flights were diverted from Vnukovo airport — one of four airports that serve the capital — due to “technical issues.”
All flight restrictions at the airport were lifted at 8 a.m. local time, according to Russian authorities.
Ukraine rarely comments on attacks on Russian soil, which have ramped up in recent months as the war increasingly comes home to the Russian people.
Two drones were shot down near Moscow early Tuesday morning, according to Russian state media.
State-run TASS news agency reported one drone was intercepted in Novaya Moskva (New Moscow) and the other in Kaluga Oblast southwest of the capital.
There were no injuries or damage after the drones were intercepted, state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on US President Joe Biden to invite Ukraine into NATO “now” – even if membership does not come until after the war.
Speaking in English to CNN, Zelensky said that Biden was “the decision maker” about whether Ukraine would be in NATO or not.
“He supports our future in NATO,” but an invitation now would be a huge motivator for Ukrainian soldiers, Zelensky stated in an exclusive interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett.
Ukraine’s aspiration to join is enshrined in its constitution and its relationship with NATO dates back to the early 1990s, according to the alliance. NATO is due to hold a summit in Lithuania on July 11 and 12 where leaders are expected to discuss Ukraine’s membership.
“Now,” Zelensky said in response to a question about why not wait for an invitation.
“It’s very important,” he stressed, adding, “It’s so important to feel that you are really being around allies in the future.”
The president noted that he understood that Ukraine would “never be in NATO before war finishes.”
NATO stipulates that the settlement of territorial disputes is “a factor in determining whether to invite a state to join the Alliance.”
“We understand everything,” he stated, adding, “But this signal is really very important. And depends on Biden’s decision.”
Russia has deployed over 180,000 troops to the two major eastern battlefronts, according to Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“More than 180,000 (Russian troops have been deployed) across the area of responsibility (of the Eastern Group of Forces) … The Lyman-Kupyansk front is longer, which is why the enemy is concentrating their forces there,” Cherevatyi said in an interview with Ukrainian media Monday, adding there are “more than 120,000 enemy troops” on Lyman-Kupyansk direction at the moment.
Cherevatyi called it “a pretty powerful grouping.” He said it included “air assault and mechanized units, units of the Bars combat army reserve, territorial forces” and new Storm Z assault companies, that he said recruited people with criminal records.
Cherevatyi stated that there are around 50,000 Russian troops on the Bakhmut front.
The cities of Lyman and Kupyansk are about 100 kilometers apart, north of Bakhmut on Ukraine’s eastern front.
Meanwhile, Hanna Maliar, deputy defense minister of Ukraine, reported frequent clashes near Bakhmut.
“The situation is changing very rapidly,” Maliar said in a Telegram post. “Control over the same positions can be lost and regained twice a day.”
General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukrainian Land Forces, echoed Maliar’s comments in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian online newspaper, on Monday.
“The enemy is trying to transfer units to the most threatening directions for counterattacks, trying to destabilize the situation, cause losses to Ukraine and disrupt the logistics of the defense forces,” Syrskyi stated, adding that “the threat of the enemy offensive actions from the side of Bakhmut in the direction of Chasiv Yar remains.”
Chasiv Yar is about 15 kilometers west of Bakhmut.
Syrskyi noted that Russians are “desperately clinging to the positions and strongholds that were once occupied by the Wagnerites,” a reference to the mercenary force that led the Russian offensive around Bakhmut.
Ukrainian forces have been able to stop Russian troops from moving within Bakhmut, he continued.
Ukraine hopes an international tribunal into alleged Russia’s crimes of aggression can be held based on the work of a new evidence-gathering centre launched Monday.
Speaking during a news conference marking the centre’s launch in the Hague on Monday, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General, Andriy Kostin, said he anticipated prosecutors working at the centre will not only gather evidence but also begin building a “prosecutorial strategy” which could be used by a future tribunal.
“I hope that this tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression would be international because the crime of aggression committed by Russia against Ukraine is the crime against global peace and security. And to fill in the gaps in international law we need an international response,” Kostin stressed.
Ukraine has already launched criminal proceedings in domestic courts for Russian crimes of aggression, according to Kostin, adding that 312 indictments have already been issued.
The EU also expressed support for an international tribunal despite the bloc’s Justice Commissioner, Didier Reynders, telling journalists that the first preference remains to amend existing treaty, the Rome Statute so that Russia’s crimes of aggression in Ukraine could be tried before the International Criminal Court.
“We are open to work on all the possible solutions to have a dedicated tribunal to organize a trial by the crime of aggression…We want to be sure that we will have a very large, very broad support from the international community,” Reynders added.
United States Assistant Attorney General, Kenneth A Polite Jr., told the news conference that the US “supports an international tribunal,” stressing its commitment to finding a “proper forum to ensure justice and accountability” for Russian crimes of aggression.
As it stands, the newly launched International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) will not have direct investigative powers, EU criminal justice agency chief, Ladislav Harman told the news conference. Although unable to issue arrest warrants and indictments, the centre will focus on centralizing evidence of Russian crimes of aggression in Ukraine in one database with a view towards identifying evidentiary gaps “as early as possible.”
Ukraine claims to have taken back 9 square kilometers of territory in the east of the country and 28.4 square kilometers in the south in the past week, totalling about 14 square miles, according to Hanna Maliar, the deputy defense minister of Ukraine.
Heavy fighting is ongoing in the east with Ukrainian forces advancing in the Bakhmut direction, and Russia attacking the Lyman, Avdiivka and Maryinka directions, she said in her latest update Monday.
“The enemy is trying to force our troops out of their positions, but is receiving a worthy rebuff,” added Maliar.
Russia has stepped up attacks in the east, she added, while Ukraine continues to push its offensive in the south, in the Melitopol and Berdiansk sectors.
According to Maliar, “they conducted offensive operations in the areas of Novodarivka, Pryiutne; Novodanylivka, Robotyne; Novosilka, Staromayorske, and were successful.”
The total area liberated in the south is 158.4 square kilometers, she said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey “will not back down” on its opposition to Sweden joining NATO until all of its “demands are met.”
Erdogan stated his country’s expectations were made clear and that “we defend the same principles that we defended last year.”
“We do want them to harbor the separatist organizations and FETO rascals. And I want it to be known that we are not going to back down until all of those demands are met,” Erdogan told journalists Monday.
Russia is set to hold local elections in the four Ukrainian regions controlled by Moscow, the head of the Central Election Commission (CEC) said Monday.
Voters will elect local governors and other officials in September, Ella Pamfilova told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting.
The date for those elections is set for September 10, the CEC said on Telegram.
Russia-appointed governors of the four annexed regions, that the West regards as illegal, had put forth an initiative to hold local elections, according to Pamfilova, who added that the initiative was approved after consideration together with the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Russian defense ministry.
“The leaders of all four new subjects — the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions — came to us with an initiative [suggesting] that the need to hold these elections has emerged,” she stated.
In September, 41 other regional elections will take place to elect governors, members of legislative assemblies or both across Russia, Pamfilova added.
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